ERS Genomics and Vivlion have signed a non-exclusive license agreement granting Vivlion access to ERS Genomics’ CRISPR/Cas9 patent portfolio, to enhance its gene editing reagents and screening services.
Vivlion holds an exclusive license to Goethe University of Frankfurt’s 3Cs technology for the production of 3Cs CRISPR/Cas gRNA libraries. The license from ERS Genomics now enables the startup to offer both R&D reagents and screening services to its customers worldwide.
“The unique 3Cs technology developed by Vivlion significantly expands the use of CRISPR/Cas libraries for target discovery and drug development,” said Eric Rhodes, CEO of ERS Genomics. “It will be exciting to see Vivlion combine its expertise with the power of CRISPR gene editing to facilitate the Company’s entry into the global CRISPR/Cas tool market.”
“Our proprietary 3Cs technology enables single and dual-combinatorial CRISPR/Cas libraries in any order of diversity. Due to our unique production process, even complex reagents can be produced without compromising on quality,” explained Ivan Ðikic, CEO of Vivlion. “Dual combinations of gRNAs may be arranged in a multiplexed, random format or in pre-defined, fixed pairs. Whilst multiplex reagents empower gene interaction and synthetic lethality screening, fixed-pair reagents open the field of high-throughput excision genomics in the coding and non-coding genome”.
Vivlion was recently featured as ‘one to watch’ in the Spinoff Prize competition launched by Nature and Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany.
Financial details of the agreement are not disclosed.